Deals of the Day: Delta and Northwest Pilots Plan to Hole Up With Contracts

By Deal Journal

By Stephen Grocer and Heidi Moore

Deals of the Day includes all the major news of the morning related to mergers and acquisitions and financing. For breaking deal news, turn to the WSJ’s Deals & Deal Makers page, or click here to automatically sign up for Deals Alert emails.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Delta-Northwest: The two pilots’ unions are planning a seven-day round-the-clock negotiation marathon over contracts. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Today in Anheuser-Busch: Who owns more A-B shares than the Busches or Warren Buffett? Employees, noted the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s David Nicklaus. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch Mound City Money blog]Related: One more reason this deal looks good to InBev: our weak American play money. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Intel: The chip maker plans to spin off a team that has been developing solar-panel technology to form a new company. [WSJ]

Medicis Pharmaceutical: The firm is acquiring closely held LipoSonix for more than $150 million. [WSJ]

Selling wind: Allco Finance Group sold its U.S. wind project for $345 million. [The Australian]

Goodwill Games: Chinalco is promising to seek clearance from the Australian Government before attempting to acquire an additional stake in Rio Tinto. [The Australian]

Financial Institutions

Goldman points the way: The Wall Street firm is finalizing a plan to restructure a $7 billion investment vehicle formerly run by Cheyne Capital, which could usher in a new phase in the credit crunch. [FT.com]

One step forward, two steps back: Assets that Lehman and other firms securitized in recent years may come back to haunt them in 2010 under proposed accounting-rule changes. [WSJ]
Societe Generale: The French bank has acquired a 37% stake in Rockefeller Financial Services for an alliance in private banking. [Reuters]

Buyside

Pruning the hedges: The hedge fund industry is under going a shake out. [WSJ]

Tell that to Harbinger: The hedge fund, best known for challenging the governance of The New York Times, is looking to attract $4 billion and loosen its ties to the Harbert family that seeded it. [New York Post]

Shake up down under: Babcock & Brown outlined plans to sell its wind-energy assets and appoint outside advisers to conduct a review of the underperforming listed funds the group manages. [The Sydney Morning Herald]

Reversal of fortune: It used to be that hedge funds endangered the existence of banks. Now it’s almost the other way around. [The Economist]

China: It wants to invest in….St. Louis. The feeling is mutual. “The Chinese are exploring the notion of making St. Louis their Midwestern port of entry to the United States,” says one city official. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Comments (1 of 1)

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About Deal Journal

Deal Journal is an up-to-the-minute take on the deals and deal makers that shape the landscape of Wall Street, including mergers and acquisitions, capital-raising, private equity and bankruptcy. In short, wherever money changes hands. Deal Journal is updated throughout each trading day with exclusive commentary, analysis, data, news flashes and profiles. The Wall Street Journal’s David Benoit is the lead writer, with contributions from other Journal reporters and editors. Send news items, comments and questions to deals@wsj.com.